vault66 | MONTH 3 LOG

Entry tags:

MONTH 3 LOG

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: Vault 66
WHEN: Month 3
WHAT: The pods and the vault door opens
WARNINGS: Violence, likely language

AWAKENING

You awake laying on your back in an, admittedly comfortable, pod. You can't move anything but your eyes, can't even feel your body yet. How you got here or why is a blank. You may have been in the middle of your day, asleep, or even- for what you remember- should be dead. Then a screen directly in front of your face flickers to life and in crisp, black and white displays: DON'T PANIC. The following video then plays:

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The screen flickers again and reads: CONGRATULATIONS ON PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE! WELCOME TO VAULT LIFE, CITIZEN. WELCOME TO YEAR: [ERROR]. YOUR PERSONAL BELONGINGS ARE LOCATED IN [FILE CORRUPTED. SEE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR]. ENJOY YOUR STAY AND THANK YOU FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT VAULT-TEC.

The pod then unseals and you are able to, unstably at first, climb out of the pod. Your body may feel foreign for a moment- perhaps entirely foreign if you suddenly find yourself a human, ghoul, or super mutant for the first time. But whatever your form, you have two items on: a bright blue jumpsuit with the number 66 in yellow on the back, and a mechanical device known as a Pip-boy sealed onto your arm. If you click on the buttons it takes you to an instruction screen.

You look around to find yourself in a room of other pods. Some are just opening, other people looking as confused as you climbing out. Others remain closed with the status of 'STASIS' on the screens attached to the pods. The rest of the room is less than impressive. Computer systems that seem out of place compared to the technology level of the pods are scattered across the room, apparently running the chambers. Trying to access them, even for the most talented hacker, will simply result in SEE OVERSEER being displayed. There is large metal door leading to the rest of the vault, a lever on the wall next to it that will cause it to open.

Welcome, dweller, to vault 66.

VAULT OPENING, THE CELEBRATION

It’s finally here, at long last. In the lead up to the Vault opening, Louis has turned the recreation area into a celebration. It comes with a modest feast! A whole cake, some tasty cola, and grilled meat (if you helped kill the radroaches or mole rats, you know where that meat came from). He even found some old party decorations that were supposed to be used when the Vault was unsealed after the war. The original party, of course, was supposed to be a few hundred years ago. The colors are faded and it’s horribly water stained, but the HAPPY VAULT DAY banner still holds. There are even party hats, for the particularly festive.

The event starts first thing in the morning and will last until early afternoon, when the Overseer announces it’s time to gather in the entry way for the main event.

WARRANTY FORFEIT IF UNSEALED

The time has finally come for the Vault to open. After walking down a corridor of rusted and corroded radiation scanners and security terminals, characters are face to face with the ground level of a huge elevator shaft. At the very top, the four yard thick monstrosity of a door that has sealed the Vault closed for several hundred years. Despite its age, the old girl is as functional as the day she was made. Looking up from the bottom of the shaft, characters can see an intricate formation of deadbolts, gears, and other machinery holding the door in place.

Captain Simmons, the robot in charge himself, has come out to do the honors of opening the door. At an innocuous enough computer station, he plugs in the very tip of one of his three robotic arms to begin the unlocking sequence. What follows is a good minute of flashing lights, warnings that the door is being unsealed, and the grind of machinery as the locking mechanism unengages. The large, gear shaped door at the very top of the elevator shaft pulls back slightly, turns, then begins its descent down towards the gathered group. Make sure you’re not directly under it, Vault-Tec did not install any safety mechanisms to stop the door/platform from crushing anyone standing beneath it.

The door isn’t the only thing that comes down, however. The moment the door begins to lower, water rushes in after it. From the sudden activation of all pip-boys in the area, characters can instantly determine this is heavily irradiated water. It pours in until there is roughly two feet of the stuff on the floor of the entry way, then finally seems done. As if this weren’t enough, however, things come in with the water. Most of them small, about the size of your average radroach, scampering around and jumping at whatever source of fresh meat they can reach. There’s about half a dozen of these hatchlings. Two of them, however, are huge. Standing at about six feet tall, they look like a cross between a gigantic horse-shoe crab and an alien invader: mirelurks. And they aren’t pleased to find themselves suddenly stuck in a Vault.

Simmons immediately starts shooting and hovering away from the group, trying to distract the creatures from the gathered characters. Fighting may solve the problem, assuming no one is killed in the process. Fleeing back into the Vault, closing the heavy entrance door, and just letting the things starve to death for a few weeks is certainly an option. As is rushing the elevator and getting the hell out of the Vault while Simmons is distracted, but whether you’ll ever get back in again unknown. Whether you help, run away, let them kill Simmons then help, or another choice entirely is up to you.

Happy Vault opening day!

GENERAL EXPLORING

Remember the rest of the vault awaits. This includes the three Mr. Handy’s and a Mr. Gutsy floating around, as well as more radroaches and mole rats wandering around the many corpses/blood splatter patterns.

OOC NOTES

To talk to a specific NPC one-on-one, leave a comment on their thread below.

Looking for loot in a specific area? Looking for a specific item/kinds of item in general? Ask here and we’ll let you know.

If you have any OOC questions, please leave a comment here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. Celebration

For the last month Azula has been having waves of longing for her home, her former position, even missing her time in the asylum. At least things there were clean and dry and the food tasted like food.

She can't help but pout as she sits looking with dismay at the meat on her plate. She knows she has to eat it to build up her strength for the journey today but she's not pleased with it.

She also is refusing to wear the party hat.

She's looking more focused then she's been the last few days but there are still bags under her eyes, a redness to them.

For those who have been paying attention she's also sporting a new sword on her hip. Every so often her hand strays to it and runs her fingers along the handle as if making sure it's still there.

Reaching out to try the drink that's been placed in front of her she sips it and her eyes light up with surprise.

"Well...this cola is delightful. It burns a little."

______________________________________

2. False start.

This was it! Finally her patience was about to be rewarded!

Her hair was tied back into a no nonsense bun and her hand was on her sword handle as she peered into the darkness watching the cracks of light appear as the door creaked open.

And then...a sound that made her blood run cold. Her skin prickled as water poured into the chamber, sloshing around them and splattering them with flecks of cold fluid as it crashed to the ground.

Panic. Wild eyed panic and before she knew what was happening Azula was scrambling for the door. She had to get back into the vault! Had to get away before she was drown or frozen!

A creature, some kind of monster fell from the sky and splashed into the growing pool. She let out an almost feral cry and struck out with her sword impaling it in it's soft underbelly.

"Let go!" She spat pulling hard on her sword trying to get it back as the creature snapped it's pincers at her furiously.

She might need some help.

Edited 2020-07-02 03:30 (UTC)

That's not an expression he ever thought he'd see on Azula's face. She's... afraid. Huh. Something to hold over her later. Jiro makes his way over to her; the water is annoying and slows everything down. He has at least enough self-preservation not to punch the crab and risk getting his fingers sliced off by the pincers. Instead he kicks it, trying to stun it long enough for Azula to pull her sword out. Crabs have armour though, so maybe that was also a bad idea.

The creature shudders when it's kicked as it's shell takes most of the blow, but there's a crack in it's back that gets larger when he lands his strike.

Azula takes a moment to register what happened, her wide and wild eyes focusing on Jiro for a moment before nodding sharply.

"Again!" she demands before throwing her weight behind the sword pushing rather then pulling this time. If he strikes the crab again they might just finish it off.

He doesn't like that demanding tone, but he sees where's she's going with this. He aims his next kick for the crack in the shell.

CRACK!

The creature lets out a hissing screech as it's limbs shuddered and twitched before going limp. The Princess is breathing heavy as she plants a foot on it's slumping shell and jerks hard pulling her sword back out.

"Disgusting." She mumbled backing away as the water sloshed around them and the Pip-boys were crackling furiously. The death of the creature is enough to stall her panic and she looks around taking in the chaos before her eyes settle on the door leading back into the vault.

Disgusting is right, the slimy insides mixing the irradiated water. Still, Jiro collects one of the limbs with a big claw, ripping it from the carcass. It might taste better than roaches.

"Running away?"

He nods towards the door. He's starting to doubt his original warlord theory.

She's torn, her pride, her fear, her anger spinning wildly.

But even now she can feel the icy cold soaking into her boots. Creeping up her legs as the Vault Suit reaches it's limit for how much it can repel. That horrible clinging moisture that she can't burn away.

Without a word she makes for the door again, gripping the handle of her blade so tightly her knuckles are turning white. Almost as pale as her face in this moment of shame.

He just stands there for a moment, all desire to mock her further gone. That's more than fear. He probably shouldn't go after her with all the crab creatures still hanging around, but he moves to follow her anyway. He doesn't hesitate to grab her wrist, both to get her to stop and to avoid being skewered by the sword if he startles her.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

It's a stupid question, but at least he's sincere in his concern.

She hadn't been expecting him to come after her. She hadn't expected anyone to bother with the threat of these bugs and the gun wielding robot shooting wildly. But Jiro was full of surprises.

"Obviously not!" She jerked her wrist back looking affronted.

"I just...I have to get out of here. You can handle them. Ignore the shells aim for the soft bits...or their legs." She muttered somehow analyzing the fight cutting through her panic. Her eyes darted around counting the enemies, seeing who was moving towards the elevator.

And then back down to the water, starring into it with sudden tension, sudden anger that washed the fear off her face. She slashed at the water with her sword sending a cascade of water towards one of the unattended Mirelurks who turned to face her.

He gets it. This is how he panics too.

"I got it. Gimme the sword."

If she's going to ditch, he may as well use it.

"You wish."

She went to all the trouble to have that sword cleaned and sharpened. She wasn't about to risk him losing it. Still he deserved something.

From her sleeve she produced a pair of sharpened and cleaned kitchen knives she'd been hiding just in case passing them to him.

She's not going to give him a thank you, but that's better then nothing.

Knives! He takes them without a thank you either.

"I'll bring you a trophy."

An alien crab head she can hang by her bunk.

"Honestly it's not bad!" Zhao Yunlan had a glass of the cola, too. It was almost, but not quite, completely unlike real cola, but it was both carbonated and kind of sweet.

His standards were much lower these days than they had been. He wasn't even wincing over the roasted roach meat.

With a nod towards the sword at Azula's belt, he added, "Nice -- where'd you dig that up?"

"My family has spent generations perfecting the art of tea, but I would hazard a beverage like this could sweep the nation if I brought it home."

She was in fact still clinging to the idea that there was somehow a way home.

She preened a bit when he noticed her sword and she pulled it out to show it off.

"While I was cleaning out the classroom, behind a pile of desks I found a plate, a fork, a lunchbox, a piece of wood that had been painted to look like steak...and this. What an absolute waste of a weapon."

She had clearly taken the time to clean it, and it looked very sharp compared to most of the dull knives the kitchen had to offer.

"Eh," Yunlan said, with a wave of his hand, "considering all the bones around the place, it was probably dropped in the last extremities of battle! Or it was a prop."

He considers his glass, with a faint air of drama, and knocks back another swallow. "Carbonation's great. I'm sure they'd love it back where you're from -- it's a big hit where I'm from, anyway."

Could they go home? Well, obviously, no. He was agnostic on the topic of whether any of their homes were even real the way they remembered them, but why be a killjoy just for the hell of it? People needed hope, and in extremis even stupid hope would do.

"I assure you, it's quite real." She countered proudly, misunderstanding perhaps his use of the word prop.

"Well, other then your significant others, What's something you miss about home that you'd like to try and recreate here if whatever we find on the surface allows it?"

"Decent fashion, take-out noodles, beer, cigarettes and candy," Yunlan shot back instantly, ticking each point off on a finger. "You? Other than bathrobes and good mattresses."

"I'll agree with at least half of those." She mused about how long it had been since she'd had some good spicy noodles.

"It's the simply pleasures I miss from living in the palace. Comfortable fabrics, having my hair and nails tended to by adoring servants, fresh fruit."

Adoring might be a stretch but she was at least being honest about the rest of it.

"Less 'servants' and more 'barbershop,' but ugh, haircuts," Yunlan agreed, tone mournful. He reached up, ruffling a mop of hair that had gone from stylish to shaggy. He wasn't even going to mention the patchy mess that was his beard. "And what I wouldn't give for a decent razor."

"Don't knock servants until you've had them. Less fortunates always act like they're too good for it until someone brings them a perfectly chilled drink on a day where it's too warm to move."

Honestly, these poor people would never understand how much she'd lost. Why was she even trying?

"I believe Charlotte was offering to help with that sort of thing." She offered with a teasing smirk. "But I prefer longer hair as it is, chopping it off makes you look weak."

Shen Wei was the furthest thing in the world from a servant -- on his most arrogant days Yunlan liked to think of them as equals -- but there was only one association he had with being taken care of like that, and it caught him by surprise. For a moment, his expression was unguarded, twisting with grief.

He looked away from her and rubbed a hand hard over his mouth, forcing his lips back under control.

"Eh, I like the look of long hair, but speaking of servants it is a pain to take care of solo."

Azula's eyebrow rose with interest. Somehow she'd hit a nerve without meaning to.

She was good at that back home. Nice to see some skills were transferable.

"Well if you're looking for an offer I'd try the robots or Chocolat. The last time I tried to trim my own hair I wound up making a mess of it." she confessed reaching up to tug on her bangs and make sure they were even.

They were more or less. Close enough for now.

"Perhaps if there are any plants still alive on the surface we can start working on a conditioner to restore our hair to how it should be. Not that I know how of course but that's what the robots are for."

She was giving him the eyebrow, but-- thank god-- she didn't look inclined to follow it up with awkward sympathy or pointed questions. Discretion in a teenager, how about that?

"Sure, Louis might have some herbal conditioner recipes," he said with a vague wave of one hand. "I sure as hell don't know what might work. Henna's a plant, right?"

"I think I've heard of it yes." She sighed and pouted.

"It does seem like the more time we spend here the more skills and information we seem to be lacking. Do you suppose it was intentional that the first ones released from the pods were the ones least capable at crafting and building and...domestics?"

Thank the spirits for the cooking robot and Chocolat's strange compulsion to clean.

"Hey! -- no, I can't even pretend I had a good domestic education." He dismissed the idea with an impatient click of tongue against teeth. "There's robots for that around here! I'm gonna guess they just didn't think we'd need those skills."

It was a good thing they had robots for that. Yunlan'd still managed to accumulate a nest of random junk around the bed he'd picked in the men's bunk room; no one had complained yet and so he felt no urge to make an effort. Besides, it helped the place feel more homey.

"Anyway, who knows how to make herbal conditioner out of actual herbs these days?"

Azula

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